Top 5 Weirdest Musical Duets

Duets are an integral part of popular music. Few musicians of any era are without at least one track featuring another artist. In most cases, both halves of the duet benefit by creating a song that appeals to each musician’s fans. However, some pairings are so weird that fans can’t set aside the “Why?” of the pairing long enough to enjoy the song.

5 Jonas Brothers and Stevie Wonder

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The Grammies like to shake things up a bit, pairing odd couples for duets that rock your world. Sometimes, though, the odd pairings create disaster. While not technically a duet in terms of numbers, the Jonas Brothers count as a single unit, so you can include their pairing with Stevie Wonder in the weird duet category. Jonas and Wonder created a train wreck of a performance for the 2009 Grammy Awards, earning a spot in the “what were they thinking” hall of fame. The cute-as-kittens boy band and the music industry legend performed “Superstition,” and it did not wow the crowds.

4 Wyclef Jean and Kenny Rogers

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Country crooner Kenny Rogers hit legendary status with his song “The Gambler,” but he sent heads spinning when he paired up with Wyclef Jean in 2000 to make a remix of the song. The track begins with Rogers crooning as usual, but over the sound of his voice, your brain is slammed with Wyclef Jean’s rapping. In addition to the chaotic blending of country and rap, Rogers offers his contribution to the rap world with lyrics like “You gotta count your dub plates before you touch that turntable.” The remix didn’t seem to appeal to fans of any music genre.

3 Elton John and Eminem

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Not all of the weirdest duets result in audio horror. When Elton John paired up with rapper Eminem to perform at the 2001 Grammy Awards, the performance was good. However, the pairing itself had fans of both musicians scratching their heads. At the time, Eminem was known for his anti-gay lyrics. With Elton John being openly gay, the whole event left some wondering if perhaps pigs might fly.

2 Sylvester Stallone and Dolly Parton

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Pairing Sylvester Stallone and Dolly Parton in anything boggles the mind, but Rambo and the country music legend performed and recorded a little song called “Sweet Lovin’ Friends” for the 1984 comedy “Rhinestone.” To truly grasp the weirdness of this duet, you should watch the film and listen to the song, which won a Razzie for worst original song in 1985.

1 Michael Jackson and Eddie Murphy

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You didn’t know that Eddie Murphy could sing? Well, it’s debatable, but in 1993 Eddie joined Michael Jackson to record the song “Whatzupwitu.” The two followed this weirdness with a video that can only be described as a mishmash of oddities that opens with Eddie staring into a pool of water at a clown. The clown looks up and says, “The elephant is dying.” Creepy yes, but that’s just the beginning of the bizarre things that are featured in the video. It all has meaning, but it’s lost under the mind-numbing crooning of Eddie Murphy and the fluttering cartoon hearts and dancing musical notes.